Evil Never Dies
by Sixty Five Roses
Summary: Elsinger sends the team on a dangerous mission in Raccoon City, where they meet Alice, and discover that evil never dies. Psi Factor/Resident Evil crossover.
1. Prologue

**Evil Never Dies**

**Note: **Alice originally worked for the Umbrella Corporation, but I have changed her profession to a U.S. Army secret operative. For those who are wondering, I was thinking it would only be logical if the army had something to do with Umbrella's secret developments (such as the T-virus), since it could be a great use in biological weapon.

**Main Characters:**

OSIR Senior Data Analyst Lindsay Donner – Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal

OSIR Senior Chemist Peter Axon – Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal

U.S. Army Secret Operative Alice – Resident Evil

OSIR Senior Pathologist Clair Davison – Psi Factor

OSIR Case Manager Matt Praeger – Psi Factor

Rae and Miranda – Original characters

**Secondary Characters:**

OSIR Parapsychologist Anton Hendricks – Psi Factor

Dana Praeger – Psi Factor

Director of Operations Frank Elsinger – Psi Factor

Thousands of flesh eating zombies – Resident Evil

Prologue

There's a purpose for our being here. There should be. I always wondered why I am here. Why do I exist? Although I cannot tell for certain, I believe that I was created in order to survive. If I wasn't created to beat death and see what I have seen in my life, just so I can pass it on and raise another survivor, then there's no purpose to my life. Because if I wasn't the one who should have lived, then why are the others dead?

In my last journey as a survivor I met people who lost their family, I've seen a city that has crumbled into thin dust along with the people who lived in it and I lost people I loved and cared about.

Is being a survivor a gift? Life is a gift, or so they say. But I know from experience that there's no way that life can be a gift. It is another journey that you have to survive. But what's the point of it when you know you'll die in the end?


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

She needed to get help. Knowing what was expecting for her in the abandoned grey streets of Raccoon City, she went out of the secure laboratory and grabbed a shotgun. It was cold and raining. Small drops of water fell on her skin and brought along the comprehension that there was no possible way she could kill a thousand flesh-eaters on her own. She needed backup.

She knew the right people that were needed for this kind of mission, but wondered how she could get to them and not get killed by those flesh-suckers that swarmed in the city.

"Damn it, after I'm done here I'll make sure that the Umbrella Corporation will no longer exist." She swore. The Umbrella Corporation and their secret experiments was the reason that thousands of flesh-eating zombies were walking the streets of Raccoon City and infecting the living population with this deadly virus. If she only knew where the corporation hid the antivirus, she could get it and use it to reverse the enormous damage its brother, the T-virus caused. But she didn't and even if she had, there wasn't enough for the whole population of Raccoon City.

A man named Frank Elsinger who wore an incredibly expensive suit sat in his fancy office in the Office of Scientific Investigation and Research headquarters, drinking coffee and speaking on the phone. There was a serious situation going on in Raccoon City and he tried to think of a team he could afford to lose. He couldn't send rookies on this mission. He needed a team of experts that he didn't care to lose on this extremely risky task. He had three folders on his table with three teams he had in mind from the moment he heard about the situation. He opened the first folder and took out the list of members.

"Case Manger Eliza Caven…" He said to himself. He hated Eliza. She always had to have things going her way. "Senior Chemist John Leman, Parapsychologist Lawrence Short, Senior Data Analyst Judy Durham." This team was certainly a possibility. He didn't like three of the members and didn't think they were that good in their job. But he needed a stronger team. As much as he would have liked seeing this team going down, they couldn't handle such a task. He put the folder away and moved to the second one. "Case Manager Curtis Rollins…" No, he couldn't afford losing Curtis. He was good at his job and even though he was taken out of the third team, that was one of the best, and one of the most rebellious teams the OSIR had ever had. He closed the second file and opened the third. "Case Manager Mathew Praeger, Parapsychologist Anton Hendricks – on a leave of absence, Senior Chemist Peter Axon…" He needed Axon. He was had a fine mind that the OSIR could certainly use. "Senior Data Analyst Lindsay Donner." Here was a woman who deserved to go down. She was the key to this team's rebelliousness. It was because her love for the last case manager, Connor Doyle, that was killed in Russia two years earlier, that the team was going against him that way. He had warned her many times, but she wouldn't listen. Matters came to the point that he needed to eliminate her, which was too bad, because she was good at her job. But so were the rest of the team. Too bad that they couldn't obey orders. So all he needed now was telling them that they're going on a 'slightly risky' mission and that there's a whole city depending on them.

On Monday morning, Elsinger came down to the mobile lab, where the team usually worked. He didn't do it very often, but he felt like it was the last time he was seeing their faces and wanted to bid them farewell. Although they were disobedient, they were a good team and in a way it was a loss for the OSIR. _But I'll get over it._ He thought and walked into the conference room, where they gathered every morning.

"Good mourning." He said. It was certainly a good morning for him. He hoped the whole team goes up in flames. Maybe except for Peter Axon. He had big plans for him, but if the team had to go, Peter had to go with it.

"Mourning, Frank?" Matt Praeger, a tall skinny man asked with a cheerful grin. Matt was always cheerful and was constantly cracking jokes, which Elsinger believed were on his expense.

"I said 'morning', Mathew." Elsinger said. Lindsay tried to hold her laughter, but it didn't really work for her. A small giggle came out of her mouth. Elsinger gave her a sharp look and she just smiled at him and apologized. He looked at her for a short moment. She was a beautiful woman, he had to admit. She had a long honey-colored hair and grey eyes that usually turned ice-cold when she looked at him. She was the daughter of a Nobel-Prize winning chemist, but wasn't as spoiled as most rich girls are. He did think that she had a big mouth though, and despised her for her love and loyalty for Connor Doyle, the late case manager. He was glad that Connor died, and thought it would have been good if Lindsay had died with him. Both were always asking too many questions and occupied themselves with matters that weren't their business. But he had managed to eliminate Doyle and now Lindsay was gonna join him.

"What brings you down here?" Matt asked.

"I'm here to assign you a case." Elsinger said.

"You already assigned us a case." Peter said.

"I know. But I'm assigning you a new one. The other one will be given to another team." Elsinger had a satisfied look on his face. "I'm sending you to Raccoon City."

"Frank, it's in the United States. We have operatives there. Why can't they do it?" Matt argued.

"Because your team is the only one that's capable of performing this assignment perfectly. I count of you to save the day in Raccoon City."

"Was that a joke?" Matt asked. Elsinger could feel the rage rising in him.

"I do not tell jokes, Mathew. This is your assignment." He handed Matt a folder. "Learn all the details by tonight. If there are any questions, you know where to find me. You're leaving tomorrow morning at 5:30 AM. Do not forget your passports. This is a very urgent case. Human lives are in danger and we cannot afford any delays." And without saying goodbye, he went out of the mobile lab.

"Someone fell out of bed this 'mourning', didn't he?" Matt joked. Lindsay giggled at his joke.

"He took his British accent one step too far." Peter said, not realizing how true Elsinger's mispronounced morning greeting was about to become. "So, what is this case about?"

"I'm not sure I wanna know." Lindsay said. "The last time we were sent on a 'slightly dangerous' investigation we lost Connor." She stared at the table for a moment.

"Connor's our last case manger." Peter explained to Matt. Matt nodded. He already knew it, and has also figured out that Lindsay had a serious crush on him. "Are you okay, Linds?" He put his hand on her shoulder. She raised her head and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's see what this case is about." She changed the subject. Peter and Matt nodded and Lindsay took the folder. She opened it and started reading. "Elsinger must be kidding us." She said and handed Matt the folder. Matt started reading it.

"What is it?" Peter asked.

"Deadly creatures are lurking in the streets of Raccoon City and eating human flesh for fun and they're angry. Very angry…" Matt said in a dramatic voice.

"Really?" Peter asked and grabbed the folder.

"They're the living dead and they're scarrrrrry!" Matt continued joking.

"Zombies!" Peter said. "I take it as an insult that I am called to investigate a case of cannibalistic corpses. Everyone knows they just don't exist!"

"Well said, Pete!" Lindsay said. "God, it must be a prank."

"Frank's prank!" Matt called out cheerfully. Lindsay smiled. "I'm gonna call him and see if he's serious about it." And he went out of the room.

The next morning, the team was on its way to Corte, a town that was adjacent to Raccoon City. They still couldn't believe they were sent to investigate such a ridiculous and nonexistent phenomenon. But they assumed that Elsinger had a different plan for them, just like always did. Even though they were doubtful that zombies truly existed, they had sat together until late at night and studied the details of the case. A large biotech company called Umbrella Inc. had developed a deadly virus that somehow got loose in a lab called "the hive" and the people who inhaled it became flesh eating zombies. Only one person got out of the hive alive and she was waiting for the team in Corte.

Lindsay was driving the car and sipping coffee at the same time. She had a bad feeling about this case, but she couldn't explain it and she didn't want to worry Matt, Peter and Clair. And if that wasn't enough, she was very tired. There were at least nine hours of driving from the US border to Raccoon City and the border was an hour away if she drove at full speed. She only hoped that there wasn't gonna be a long line to cross it. She hated those lines and it drove her crazy. And driving with the team was even worse, because there was the mobile lab that needed to cross the border too, and it always needed to be checked by the border police. Even though, Elsinger usually notified them that there was a team that needed to pass the border, but Lindsay doubted that in such a short notice, the whole bureaucracy could be done in time.

The sound of snores made her look in the mirror and see that Peter fell asleep. Matt and Clair laughed and Lindsay could see that they were holding hands. She suspected that something was going on between them. She had to admit that they were a cute couple.

The hours went by very slowly and after making three stops on the way, for coffee and bathroom, Lindsay was exhausted. She really wanted to stop at a motel for the night, but Elsinger's instructions were clear; no long stops on the way, and no overnight stops.

"Anyone's got coffee left in his cup?" She asked.

"I've got some." Peter said. "Cappuccino with two sugar, is it okay for you?"

"Yeah, that's great." Peter handed her the coffee. "You're a life saver." Peter smiled shyly and patted her shoulder.

"Do you want me to replace you behind the wheel?" He offered. She took a sip from the coffee and smiled.

"I'd like that, but there's nowhere I can pull over." She replied. "There are two more hours to drive, so I think I can handle it, but thanks for offering."

"Handle it? Your eyes are practically shutting and you've got dark circles…"

"I do?" Lindsay asked and threw a glance at the side mirror of the car. "God, you're right. It looks terrible!"

"Just pull over on the first gas station or drive-through you see." Lindsay nodded.

Alice looked out of her motel room window and could see a black van parking in front of the Rothard Gross Motel. It was in fact, a very old Hotel that had a very low quality and service. Stories told that ever since it was built, most of the visitors were people who wanted to rent a room for an hour or so. The place had such cheap feel, that no one really wanted to stay there for longer than that. Alice didn't have much choice, though, because it was the only guest house in Corte.

Three man and two women went out of the van and walked towards the entrance to the motel. They were wearing suits and looked very important. They certainly didn't look like the kind of people that rents a room for an hour. She left her place in front of the window and went out of her room. She ran down the old wooden stairs that squeaked as if they were going to fall apart.

"You're the unit I asked for?" She asked. The group looked at her with a slight surprise. Lindsay stepped forward and nodded. She introduced herself and her colleagues.

"Well, it's nice to meet all of you, but I'm under the impression you are not the fighting unit I asked for." Alice said.

"We were sent here to investigate a paranormal phenomenon, Miss…"

"Alice. Please call me Alice." She said. "I asked for a combat unit, equipped with weapons, machineguns, snipers, bombs…"

"But we are the OSIR. We do not have combat units, we have research teams." Lindsay said with a slight impatience.

"I didn't call the OSIR. I called the U.S. Army." Alice said. "I need fighters, not you! There's a serious situation going on." Her face was flush with anger. "Hang on a minute, okay? I'll be right back."

"Sure, we'll be right here…" Lindsay said. Alice ran upstairs and the team could hear the squeak of the wooden stairs. "I really don't like this case. Something really bugs me about it."

"I know, Lindsay. I feel that way too, but we cannot leave until we find out why we were sent here instead of the U.S. Army." Matt said. They heard the loud squeaks of the stairs and saw Alice coming downstairs.

"Apparently, you guys are supposed to be here. And you're supposed to fight, not investigate." Alice said. "I hope you know how."

"Are you sure? We are not a combat unit. We are field experts, investigators." Matt said.

"That's what they said to me. Can you guys fight?"

"We can try." Peter replied. "If we really have to." Lindsay gave him an angry look. She wanted to go home and let another team take that investigation.

"Good, because I have no time to train you." She looked at Lindsay and Clair for a moment. "You don't plan on fighting in those suits, right?"

"We have change of clothes." Clair replied.

"Good. Be ready in an hour and wait for me outside the motel. Raccoon City is an hour away from here. I have a plan, but I need to go over it with you." Alice said. "This motel rents rooms by the hour, so if you want a place to change, that could be a good idea for you."

"Or maybe you could help us save our money and let us use your room." Lindsay said. Alice was getting on her nerves.

"I pulled a gun on the owners and threatened their lives, so you don't really wanna be a part of that… Do, you, Lucy?" Alice asked.

"It's Lindsay." Her face was flush and she was fisting her sleeve, in order to avoid punching Alice.

"Rent a room, Princess. I'm sure that if you can afford wearing those designers' suits you're have on, you can afford a room in a cheap motel." Alice shot back. She hated rich, spoiled girls, like Lindsay.

"You…" Lindsay started, but Peter grabbed her arm and put his hand on her mouth.

"Now, Lindsay. This isn't the time to get into catfights." Matt said. "Let's just rent two rooms and get changed. Lindsay, try to get some sleep. Maybe you'll feel better then. Clair, I wanna talk to you for a moment."

"Come on, Linds, let's go and rent two rooms." Peter grabbed her hand and she followed him unwillingly to the front desk.

An hour later, the team met Alice in front of the motel. She gave them some information about the zombies that were lurking the street, the Umbrella Corporation and what had happened to the people of Raccoon City.

"My plane is this;" Alice said. "Raccoon City has a very famous weapon store. That would be a good place to start. You all know how to use weapon, right?" Peter and Matt nodded. "Do you know how to use a rifle, Princess?" Alice addressed Lindsay.

"No, I know how to use a gun." Lindsay replied. She was trying to stay calm, but felt that she was going to this mission like a sheep is going to the slaughter. She hated this feeling of hopelessness and the way her team was following Alice's instructions without thinking them through first. She didn't like Alice. Her lack of fear scared Lindsay and made her wanna run away from there as soon as she could.

"Good. Nice outfit, by the way. I didn't think that you have something that wasn't designed by some handsome and rich Italian." Alice teased her. Lindsay was wearing a black undershirt and a black pair of low cut jeans.

"I am not gonna respond that." Lindsay said to herself. "She doesn't worth it."

"Right, Princess. Don't get mad, because you need to stay focused. So, we rob the weapon store and get as much weapon as we can carry. Knives, rifles, machineguns, bullets, shotguns. Now, if you see a zombie, you need to shoot him before he bites you. You shoot them right into the head or the base of the neck, or else they won't die. A zombie bite won't kill you immediately. It will infect you with the virus and you'll die after few hours, then you become a zombie and can infect others by your bite, so please let the others know if you're being bitten, so we can be ready." Alice said.

"Wait a minute. What do you mean by 'so we can be ready'? Are you going to kill the infected people?" Lindsay asked. Now, she understood why the team was sent on this mission. Elsinger had set them up. They weren't supposed to get out of there alive.

"No, I'm not going to kill them. I will shoot them into the head…"

"I'm sorry, but shooting someone into the head would kill them, in case you didn't know that." Lindsay said sarcastically.

"You should have let me finish speaking. I'll shoot them after they die, to prevent them from transforming into zombies. I don't think you would like to become a zombie if you died, would you?"

"No, I wouldn't. But I wouldn't like to be shot in the head too." Lindsay replied.

"Look, Princess, I don't wanna be shot in the head either, but if I become a zombie, you have the honor of blowing my brains out of my head. Okay?" Alice asked. Lindsay was really pissing her off with her attitude. "Now, is everything clear to everyone?" and since everyone nodded, Alice commanded that they get into the car and head towards Raccoon City.

At first look, Raccoon City looked just like any other town. It also seemed to be pretty calm for a city where a war between humans and the undead is in process. Alice was giving Peter driving directions to the weapon store, but few times on the way they bumped into obstacles such as cars that stood in the middle of the road.

"Okay, it's here. Just park the car in front of it." Alice said. She took a gun that was stuck in her belt. "I'll be the first to enter the store. You guys are gonna be behind me. Grab anything you can. Guns and rifles are the best you can find. Make sure it's loaded. You see a zombie, kill it. Do not scream. It's gonna bring the others. Now, I have another gun. Peter, I want you to take it. Don't hesitate to shoot anything that attacks you." She said and handed him the gun. "Now let's go." And the team followed her out of the car and into the store that to the team's surprise was abandoned.

"Well, that makes our job easy." Matt said.

"Don't be so sure." Alice replied and took a rifle off the wall. She stuck it in her belt. "Hey, Princess! Here's a gun you can handle easily." She threw a small handgun in the air and Lindsay caught it. "It's unloaded; let me find you some bullets." She grabbed a key that she found on the seller's counter and opened a drawer behind the cash. "Okay, eight millimeters…" She took out few small boxes and put them on the counter. "Those are the ones you need. Load the gun and keep the boxes in your pocket or something. You'll need them." Clair took a shotgun off the wall.

"I never used a gun before." She said to Matt.

"Then this isn't the one you need." Alice said. "Nine millimeters should be good for you." She showed Clair how to use it and then gave her some bullets.

"Have you ever been here before?" Peter asked and took the shotgun from Clair's hand. He loaded it with bullets he found in the drawer.

"A couple of times. I bought some weapon here not long ago and I know where everything can be found."

"So this is not your first robbery, then?" Lindsay asked.

"We're not robbing the place. No one's here." Alice replied. "And no, this isn't my first robbery, but I'm only doing it for the sake of Raccoon City."

"So, what are you, exactly? A runaway criminal?" Lindsay asked. She found a knife behind the counter and stuck it in her belt.

"No, I'm with the U.S. Army." Alice replied. She found some explosives in a sack in the corner of the room. "This could use for homemade bombs." She said to herself.

"You sound more like a terrorist."

"I'm not a terrorist, Princess, but I fought those zombie things once. I know how to beat them. Exploding them could be a good idea." Alice said.

"This store has a basement. Maybe we should check it out." Matt said. He had a rifle in his hand and two small handguns in his belt.

"Good idea." Alice said. "You wanna go first?" Matt nodded and started going down the stairs. Alice followed him and Peter stayed with Clair and Lindsay upstairs and kept choosing weapons they thought they could handle.

"This is a suicide mission." Lindsay said to herself.

"Sure it is, if you keep going against Alice and not with her." Clair said.

"She doesn't care if she dies or not. I do care about my life." Lindsay replied. "It's another one of Elsinger's evil plans. Connor was first and we come right after that!"

"You sound like a paranoid freak. Stop playing superhero." Clair said.

"Why? So Alice will take that part? She's so…"

"Cool? Smart? Strong? Or maybe she wants to save a whole city and believes she knows how?" Alice came upstairs. "I don't play the superhero, Princess. I just wanna kill all those creeps before they kill the human population of the world."

"And after you do that, you'll become a superhero." Lindsay said.

"I don't mind giving you the credit, Princess, as long as you obey my orders. I know what I'm doing. I am the sole survivor from the hive. That's where the zombies were locked until someone opened it and let the virus free." Alice said. "If you stop going against me that would make our mission so much easier." Alice handed her 8 inches long plastic pipe that was blocked from both sides and had a fuse attached to one end of it. "Just like I thought. The explosives in the sack were used to make homemade bombs. It isn't legal to make them, but they'll be a great use for us now."

"This is pretty heavy." Lindsay said. "How much damage can it do?"

"That depends on where you explode it. In the street it would damage anything that's located in a radius of about 25 feet away." Alice said. "And in a building the damage would be bigger, but I can't tell you how much bigger. I say we take ten of those with us and use them only as a last resort." She stuck it in Lindsay's belt. "Matt, bring nine of those bombs up here." She stood at the top of the stairs and yelled to him.

Armed with bombs, shotguns, rifles and guns the group went out of the store and headed towards the city hall. Thick raindrops started falling down from the sky and wetting the city. It was empty, as if everyone were already dead.

"This place is pretty quiet for a war zone." Matt said and took Clair's hand.

"This is not good. I expected to see panic and mess, not this." Alice said.

"There's something wrong with a peaceful street?" Lindsay asked. "I wish I could get that where I live."

"I don't know where you live, but in this city, there's no such thing as a peaceful street. Plus, this isn't a street, it's a road and it should be loud." Alice said. They saw a dark figure in the distance and pulled their guns. It disappeared behind a trash can. A distant shriek was heard through the fog that encompassed the city. "Be ready. I think we're getting closer to flesh-sucker. Actually, there may be more than one of them." And they went on. The air got cooler and cooler and Lindsay, whose clothes didn't fit the weather in the city shivered. She could feel how her muscles are stiffening from the cold and tightened her grip in her gun, scared that it'll slip from her hand and leave her defenseless. Heavy steps were heard from the closest crossroads and raised fear in the group's hearts. They became louder and louder and finally, the team could see dark figures, walking with hunched backs, hauling their twisted legs on the asphalt road. Their teeth were black and the gray skin of their faces was raw and wounded. Their hair was sticking to their faces and looked dry. They looked like old rug-dolls, as if someone broke and wrenched every bone in their bodies. Threw the fog they looked fragile.

"God help me…" Lindsay whispered. She could barely feel her limbs anymore. Barely able to move her fingers, she cocked her gun and aimed it at one of the figures.

"Shoot!" Alice gave an order. A deafening noise was heard and few of the figures fell down on the floor. The rest of them were getting closer to the group and sent their hands forward. "Again!" And they all cocked their guns and shot again, but there were more than fifty zombies and Alice didn't want the group to waste all of their bullets on one group of zombies. "Now run as fast as you can! Back to the weapon store. We'll be safer in the car." And they started running. The weapon store was five blocks away and the road was slippery from the rain and Clair fell down a couple of times. Matt helped her up and they kept running. Behind them, they heard the heavy steps of the zombies that passed shivers through their spines. Even Alice could feel her heart beating in fear.

"One more block." Peter said to Lindsay when she stopped to take a breath of air. He grabbed her wrist and dragged her after him. "Faster, Linds. Don't fall behind."

"I can't breathe." Lindsay moaned.

"You can breathe in the car." Peter said and started running even faster. "Come on…" He begged. The rain got stronger and he could see Lindsay fighting the shivers that went through her spine one after another and trying to run the rest of the way to the car. "Just few more feet away, Linds."

"Peter, the keys." Alice, who was few feet ahead of them, almost reached the car. Peter took the keys out of his pocket and threw them in the air. Alice caught them and opened the car. She took her place in the driver's seat and started the engine. Lindsay and Peter were the next to enter the car and moments later, Matt and Clair entered too.

"Okay, were in the car, what's next?" Matt asked.

"Maybe… you could run over them." Lindsay suggested through her heavy breaths.

"That's not a bad idea, Princess." Alice said. "Fasten your seatbelts." And she pushed the gas pedal. The car went right into the middle of the zombie group.

"I don't like that…" Lindsay said when the zombies started pounding on the windows of the car and it started wobbling from side to side. Alice pushed the gas pedal again and a splash of blood covered the windowpane. She turned on the windshield wiper and the blood smeared all over the windowpane. Then she took a sharp U-turn and drove towards the zombie group again.

"Got four of them!" She called out in excitement. Lindsay buried her head between her knees and took slow deep breaths. The sight of blood usually made her throw up. "Yeah, one more bustard down!" Alice seemed to enjoy running over the zombies.

"Are you okay, Lindsay?" Peter caressed her wet hair. She breathed heavily.

"Three in a row!" Alice called out. One window shattered when she hit a zombie and Clair shrieked in fear when a scarred grayish hand caught her wrist. She fought it, but the zombies were stronger than her. She pulled her gun out and aimed towards the zombie's head, but he kept on moving alongside the car and she couldn't focus on it.

"Someone finish him off!" She yelled. A shot was heard, but missed its target. Not only this; Clair's wrist was bitten by a zombie. "That damned son of a bitch!" She screamed. Blood was oozing from her wrist. Alice seemed to be ignoring the mess that was going on in the back seat and kept running over the zombies until only ten of them were left.

"Alice, she was bitten." Lindsay said, trying to hide her distress. Alice kept ignoring. "Alice! Why don't you stop running over those idiots and tell us what to do?"

"There's nothing you can do. She'll become one of them in a few hours." Alice replied dryly. Suddenly, Lindsay felt a hand pushing her down and heard a shot.

"Don't get up!" She heard Peter's voice. He and Matt were shooting the ten remaining zombies. Blood was spraying inside the car and Lindsay could feel the sticky liquid flowing down her back. She bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes.

"It's nothing. You can clean it up later." She mumbled to herself, but the words didn't help her calm down. "It's just blood, it's just blood…"

"You can get up." Peter said. He put his hand on her shoulder and then noticed the blood. "Man, you're full of bloo…" And he stopped himself. He knew that Lindsay couldn't stand the sight of blood. "Don't panic, you can wipe that off." He said instead. Lindsay wrapped her arms around him and he could see that she was shaking. "Calm down, Linds. I'll help you clean it up." He said and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He could hear her inhaling deeply a couple of times and then she raised her head.

"That's okay, I'll be fine." She whispered.

"Are you sure?" She nodded and wiped her slightly teary eyes. "Okay, just let me wipe this bloodstain from your face." He said and wiped it off her cheek with his sleeve. Alice looked at them in the mirror.

"Are you two done?" She asked impatiently. Peter nodded slowly. "Good, let's go."

"Where are we going?" Matt asked.

"To find a safe place and see if there are any survivors." Alice replied.

"And then what? Keep fighting those creatures until we all die?" Lindsay's face was red with rage.

"No, I'm gonna call my supervisor and ask him for real backup. When they come, I'll help you guys out of the city." Alice said.

"In other words, we're on our own." Lindsay said.

"For now." Alice could see Lindsay's milk-white front teeth biting her bottom lip.

"That's just wonderful."

"If you have a better plan you're welcome to share it with us." Alice said. Lindsay shook her head. "I thought so." And she pushed the gas pedal.

"Where exactly are we heading?" Peter asked.

"In case you didn't notice, there are a lot of skyscrapers in this city. That's where we might find some survivors." Alice replied. "We are heading for the mayor's building. The army will have a good reason to send someone for us if we have one of his family members with us."

"I like your way of thinking." Matt said. He looked at Clair for a moment. "How's your hand? Is it still bleeding?" Clair shook her head and showed it to him. The wound started looking a grey and the skin around it was stiff and dry. "I don't like it."

"So do I, but what can I do?" She whispered and a tear rolled down her face.

"It's gonna be okay." Matt wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

Alice parked the OSIR van in front of the "Oracle", the newest, biggest and most expensive skyscraper in Raccoon City.

"Wow," Lindsay said when she got out of the car. She had never seen such a high building before.

"That's the Oracle. It's the highest building in the city. Over a thousand of super-expensive flats, 200 floors, including the basement... I bet even you haven't seen such a splendor in your life, Princess." Alice said.

"Yeah, but could it be that this place is full of flesh-eating zombies these days? Or maybe they haven't seen such a splendor in their lives either." Lindsay asked sarcastically.

"I assume there could be a few zombies." Alice said. "But you re fully equipped with guns and bombs… Plus, we're going straight to the mayor's flat, in order to avoid any meetings with those flesh-suckers."

"I'll accept that answer." Lindsay said.

"I don't suppose I should thank you for that." Alice said coldly. Lindsay ignored the nasty comment and followed the rest of the team into the building.

"So, should we take the stairs or the elevator?" Matt asked Alice.

"The elevator would be the fastest way, considering that the mayor lives on the 196th floor." Alive replied. "And it would also be the safest way, considering that there may be some zombies on the loose in this building."

"We'll take the elevator, then." Matt said. His teammates nodded and entered the elevator.

"So, how do you like the building, Princess? Or maybe your daddy has one of his own?" Alice teased her.

"Stop calling me Princess." Lindsay said in anger.

"Maybe if you prove that you don't deserve the title, we can omit it." Alice said.

"Hey, the two of you, stop fighting. We need to be united, so we can get out of here alive." Matt said. He never thought Lindsay was capable of such an immature behavior, although he had seen her acting very immaturely towards Peter sometimes. Lindsay didn't say a word and started at the electric board that showed in what floor the elevator was located at the moment. Alice did the same.

"This elevator is pretty quick." Peter said and pulled his gun out and loaded it.

"The miracles of technology…" Matt joked. "They spread deadly viruses all over the city and create the world's fastest elevators." The team saw Alice smile for the first time since they met her.

"Sick, isn't it?" She asked. "After I get out of here, I'm gonna make sure that the heads of the Umbrella Corporation pay for their corruption and greed."

"So, they're like Enron or something?" Lindsay asked.

"Worse than that. Enron didn't endanger the population the way Umbrella did." Alice replied.

"I bet Elsinger's cooperating with them." Lindsay said.

"Oh, come on, Lindsay. In a moment you're gonna say that Elsinger cooperates with Osama Bin Laden. Stop making up all those conspiracy theories already." Clair said.

"Elsinger is responsible for Connor's death. Or maybe that's another conspiracy theory I made up, right?" Lindsay's face turned pale when she said Connor's name.

"Yes, he is responsible for Connor's death, but that doesn't mean he cooperates with every criminal that ever existed on this planet." Clair said. Alice looked at the two of them with confusion.

"I lost the two of you. What are you talking about?" She asked.

"Connor was our case manager before Matt joined the team and he was killed in Russia two years ago in a mission. Lindsay had a crush on him." Peter explained.

"That isn't true. I did not have a crush on Connor." Lindsay said.

"Yes, you did." Clair said.

"I did not." Lindsay argued.

"Yes, you did and everyone, including Elsinger knows that." Peter said. "Elsinger is our director of operations. In other words, he decides which team is gonna investigate each case. Two years ago, he purposely omitted important details from our case file, and as a result, the whole team was put the in danger. That's when we lost Connor."

"I get the picture. Princess was grief-stricken and she hates that Elsinger since then." Alice said.

"You got it." Peter said. "But she has a good reason to do it. None of us really likes him, but Linds has gone way too far with her hatred."

"I have not…"

"Let's not start again, Lindsay." Matt said, hoping that this will put an end for the conversation that seemed to upset Lindsay so much. "Maybe we should pull our weapons. We're almost in the 196th floor." He said and pulled out his gun.

"That's a good idea." Alice said and cocked her rifle. The rest of the team members prepared their weapons and waited for the elevator doors to open.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Hearts started beating faster and faster when the elevator door opened. They weren't sure what was expecting for them outside, in the 196th floor. It could be zombies, it could be people and it could be a whole lot of nothing. Hoping for the second or third options, Alice and the team went out of the world's fastest elevator with drawn weapons and walked cautiously through the long, fancy hallway to the mayor's apartment.

"Here it is." Alice said and knocked on the door. Muffled noises could be heard behind the locked door.

"Who is it?" They heard a girl's voice.

"My name's Alice and I've got some people here with me. We're here to help you." She said.

"Did my father send for us?"

"No, but we thought he would appreciate it if we get you out of here before the zombies find you." Alice said. The door opened and the girl let Alice and the team in.

"You're Alice?" The teenage girl asked and locked the door again. "What's going on in this town? My father called us a week ago and told me and my sister not to get out no matter what happens. We never heard of him since then."

"A deadly virus was released in town and is turning people into flesh-eating zombies." Alice explained. "By the way, those are Matt, Clair, Peter and Princess." She introduced the team.

"She's lying. My name's Lindsay, not Princess." Lindsay said.

"I'm Rae and that's my younger sister, Miranda." She pointed at a girl who was sitting on the couch and nibbling crackers.

"Did you try contacting your father since the whole thing started?" Alice asked. Rae nodded.

"He said he's really busy and couldn't talk. His phone's been off since Wednesday." Miranda said. "Maybe his battery ran out."

"Okay, that's good. Did the two of you hear anything unusual in the building? Like screams and loud noises?" Both girls shook their heads. "That's good. I think it means the zombies didn't get here yet."

"So what's your plan, Alice?" Lindsay asked.

"Well, the original plan was to call my supervisor, so I can do that. Meanwhile, you might want to take a shower since you're covered with blood and we all know how uncomfortable you are with it." Alice teased her.

"That might be a good idea, Lindsay." Rae said. She was black haired and green eyed and had a slender figure. Her younger sister resembled her very much, but her hair was red and pink and she was taller than her older sister. "Our mother loved this carpet you're standing on, and we wouldn't want to stain it."

"Uh, okay…" Lindsay said. A shower wasn't in her mind at those moments, although she really did want to get cleaned.

"Come on, I'll show you where the bathroom is." Rae said. She seemed to be the more practical and down-to-earth sister. She led Lindsay to the fanciest bathroom she had ever seen. She, who had such a wealthy background, could never imagine how it was like to have such a comfortable bathroom equipped with everything technology could offer. "Here's a towel." Rae took it out of a cabinet and handed it to Lindsay. "The shampoo, soap and shower cream are right there." She pointed on the countertop. Lindsay thanked her and Rae went out of the room. Lindsay looked at herself in the mirror for a moment. She never looked worse in her life. Her hair was messy, her skin had a greenish-gray tone that reminded her of the zombies and there was blood all over her back and arms. Slowly, she started taking the guns, bullets and knife out of her belt and pockets and put them on the counter. Then, she took her black boots off and sighed. Her legs were aching and she wished she never came out of bed that morning; Then she remembered that she had never went to bed on the previous night, because she was with the team, memorizing details about the case. She sighed and took off the rest of her clothes.

She was washing the blood off her arms and hair when Alice burst into the bathroom and grabbed her wrist. Lindsay pushed her backwards and Alice stumbled over Lindsay's boots and fell on the floor. She grabbed Lindsay's weapons and put them inside one of the boots.

"What the hell are you doing?" Lindsay asked and put her hands on her waist.

"There are zombies in this very building and they're probably looking for some food. The guys are on the roof, building a ramp that would help us get to the top of the nearest building. We have to get the hell out of here right now." Alice said and got up. "So I don't care if you got soap in your eyes. You're coming with me this instant."

"Would you at least let me dress up?" Lindsay asked.

"Miranda's got some clothes for you up there. You can use this in the meantime." Alice handed her the towel. "I'll take your boots. Now let's go!" She said. Lindsay wrapped the towel around her and they went out of the bathroom and ran to the veranda, where an improvised rope ladder was hanging. Alice took her belt off and handed it to Lindsay. "Put it on, so your towel doesn't fall off and start climbing." Lindsay did it and started climbing, with Alice coming right after her. "The view's great here, Princess." Alice joked.

"That isn't funny at all." Lindsay said, realizing that it wasn't the sundown that Alice was talking about.

"I think it is." Alice said. "Keep climbing. We have three more floors." It took them fifteen minutes to reach the top of the building, where the sisters and the team were waiting for them.

"Nice dress, Linds." Peter grinned.

"That's really funny. Now get me something real to wear." Lindsay said.

"That's the first thing I found in my closet. I hope it fits." Miranda said and handed her a red dress and a black leather coat.

"Thanks." Lindsay said and took the clothes. "Peter, Matt, turn around or I'll have to kill you." She said. They turned around and she took off the towel and wore the dress and the coat. Alice took the weapons out of Lindsay's boots and handed them to her. Lindsay put them on and then wore Alice's belt around her waist and stuck the weapons in it.

"Sexy!" Peter commented when Lindsay said that he can turn back.

"After this is over, remind me to kill him." Lindsay said to Alice, who nodded and grinned.

"How's the ramp going?" Alice asked Rae and Matt, who were working on the ramp. It was made of a bunch of metal pipes that were tied together.

"Almost done. There are 17 feet between us and that building." Rae said and pointed at the nearest building. "This ramp is 23 feet. It would reach the other building, but there's gonna be an elevation."

"In other words, she means that we're gonna have to slide down there, because it isn't as high as this building." Matt explained.

"The height differences between the buildings are minor, but big enough for someone to lose balance and end up down there with the smelly dead guys, so you wanna be careful when you slide." Rae said.

"She's a genius. She always gets the best marks in her class." Miranda whispered to Lindsay. "But that's the first time I've seen her using her knowledge to something bigger than the annual science fair."

"There's always a first time." Lindsay said and smiled at her. "Now, let's go and help them pass the ramp to the other building."

"Ummm, guys, this idea about the ramp is very exciting, but I've got another one." Peter said. Everyone looked at him. "I bet you didn't notice that the Oracle has an exterior emergency stairwell that will take us straight to the street, where we left the car." He pointed at a ladder that led down to the street.

"Yes, but the zombies are down there." Miranda said.

"We're armed. We can fight them until we get to the car and drive…"

"Drive where? We're gonna run out the gas and then it's gonna be a problem." Alice said.

"I'm sure we have enough gas to get out of the city." Peter said. "We had a full tank when we met you in Corte."

"Yeah, we have enough gas to do that, but let's try to kill some of those creeps before we run for our lives." Alice said.

"Let's get out of the building before we will be killed." Peter said. Suddenly they heard loud pounds on the door that lead from the stairwell to the roof.

"Too late, they're already here." Lindsay said. "Miranda, slide down to the other building right now." She said as she pulled her gun and cocked it. With her sister's help, Miranda climbed on the 23 feet long ramp that was connecting the two buildings and started sliding down to the other building. "Clair, you go next!" Lindsay said and helped Alice block the door that separated the zombies from the people on the roof with metal pipes, just like the ones that made the ramp. After Clair and Miranda passed safely to the other building, Peter helped Rae and then passed to the other building instead. Matt, Lindsay and Alice were now blocking the door with their bodies.

"You realize that we have to move to the other building somehow." Matt said and leaned on the door.

"Princess, you go next." Alice said. Lindsay shook her head.

"You go. I'll be right after you." Alice nodded and slowly started sliding down the ramp. "Matt, after Alice gets to the other building, I'm gonna count till three and we're gonna get the hell out of here." She said. He panted and nodded. Alice reached the other building pretty fast and signaled to Lindsay and Matt. "Ready?" Lindsay asked. Matt nodded. "One, two, go!" She yelled and they both ran and climbed the ramp together. More than a dozen zombies ran through the now breached doorway and Lindsay and Matt quickly found themselves surrounded. "Come on, Matt!" She said and grabbed his shoulder. Hands were sent towards them and fingers tightened around their legs. Clinging to the ramp, Lindsay pulled Matt after her and they slid down the ramp to the other building, with the zombies right behind them.

"Come on, Lindsay!" Alice called out from the other building. "Go faster!" Finally, they reached the other building. "Good job, Lindsay." Alice said.

"Thanks." Lindsay replied and then smiled. "You just called me Lindsay." She said with surprise.

"Alice, they bit Matt." Clair called out. Alice turned around and walked over to where Matt was sitting. Blood was oozing from his left leg and there were clear teeth marks on his skin.

"Man, there's too much blood." Alice said. "We need something to stop it."

"Here, take this." Lindsay took off her coat and handed it to her. Alice took it and put it on Matt's wound. Few moments later, it was clear that leather coats aren't good in stopping bleedings. The blood was gushing from the wound and created a dark red pool on the floor around Matt's leg.

"Mattie, please don't die." Clair begged and took his hand. "I love you." Matt looked at her and smiled.

"You're beautiful; did I ever tell you that?" He asked her gently.

"Yeah, almost every day." Clair said, trying not to burst into tears. She kissed him gently.

"Guys, we really gotta get out of here." Alice said. "Use the emergency stairs." She pulled Clair away from Matt and dragged her by the hand towards the stairwell.

"Come on, Linds." Peter said and took her hand.

"No, I'm gonna stay with him." Lindsay said. Peter's eyes told her of his disagreement. "He doesn't have more than five minutes. I'm gonna be down there in a few moments." She said. Peter nodded and brought her hand close to his face. Gently, he kissed it and looked into her eyes.

"Promise me I'll see you again in five minutes, no matter what happens." He said. She nodded and Peter started going down the stairs. Lindsay watched him for a short moment and then came over to where Matt was sitting and kneeled down in front of him.

"Matt," She spoke softly and touched his knee. He raised his head and looked at her.

"Linds, why are you still here? Don't stay here. You'll be safer if you go with them." His voice was cracked. Lindsay took his hand and entwined her fingers with his.

"I'm not leaving you here alone, Matt." She said. He looked at her with compassion, as if she was the one who's dying.

"It's just a matter of time, Linds, until I die." He said.

"And I'm gonna stay with you till it happens. I don't want you to die alone." Her voice was shaking, as if she couldn't believe she was going to lose a case manager again. Matt nodded slowly.

"Lindsay, can you do me a favor?" His voice was barely audible.

"Anything, Matt."

"Tell Dana how much I love her, and that she's a great girl and I'm proud of her." He was on the verge of tears. "Tell Clair that I love her too." He continued.

"I will, Matt. I promise." Lindsay said. "Can you tell Connor that I love him and miss him?"

"I don't know how he looked." Matt joked.

"Trust me, when you'll see him, you'll know immediately it's him." Lindsay smiled, remembering how great looking he was. Matt nodded.

"And one more thing," He said and pointed at her gun. "I don't wanna be a zombie, so…" Lindsay nodded and felt tears flowing down her face. With all the strength he could gather, Matt put his palm on her face and wiped her tears. "Don't cry. You're a big girl." He smiled. "All grown up with your dress and boots, not to mention those guns. You're a knockout." A faint smile rose on her lips, but she erased it almost immediately; His hand was lighter in hers his eyes were staring at the horizon behind her.

"Matt," She whispered and leaned forward in order to look at him closely. He wasn't breathing. Slowly pulling her gun, she looked at his face one more time. "I'm gonna miss you forever." She said softly before cocking the gun and shooting him in the head. She could hear the shot's echo for long moments after she had pulled the trigger and it kept echoing in her ears as she ran down the stairs and entered the car. Clair looked at her helplessly, as if she knew, but was afraid of the bad news.

"Is he…" She started, not able to continue the sentence.

"Yes, he is." Lindsay replied. She wanted to cry, but the echo of the gunshot was still in her ears, making her wanna scream. She hated herself for doing that, but what choice did she have? Matt didn't want to become a zombie, and she could understand him perfectly. No one wanted to be a brainless creature whose only goal in life was to eat. She could see Clair's eyes were full of tears and it reminded her of the night Connor died. "He wanted you to know he loved you."

"Thanks." Clair said. "I know you did what's best for him." She motioned towards Lindsay's gun. Lindsay looked at her for a moment and nodded slowly.

"Guys, we gotta get going. Those suckers are back here." Alice said and started the car. Zombies gathered around the car and started knocking on the windows.

"Where are we gonna go?" Lindsay asked and shot a zombie who tried to get into the car through the broken window.

"There's a military base in Lasson-Pierre. It's located 18 miles away from the city. They have airplanes; they can bomb the city and kill the zombies." Alice said.

"Then what are you waiting for? Do it!" Lindsay said and Alice pushed the gas pedal. But the car didn't move.

"There are too many of them. The car can't pass through." Alice said. "Shoot them!" Lindsay and Peter started shooting the zombies, but it didn't seem to help. There were still too many of them and they blocked the road.

"Lindsay, give me your bombs." Clair said and started unbuckling Lindsay's belt.

"What the hell are you doing?" Lindsay asked as she shot a very ugly zombie between the eyes.

"My time is short. In an hour or two I'll become one of them and then I'll be dangerous to the rest of you. I can't let it happen." Clair replied. "Alice, I need a lighter." She stuck the bombs in her belt.

"So you're gonna explode yourself?" Lindsay could barely hear her own voice through the gunshots noise.

"It will clear the way. You'll be able to get out of town safely." Clair said. "Help me out." She said and started moving towards the van's broken window. Almost immediately, the zombies grabbed her arms and pulled her out of the car, sticking their teeth in her flesh on the way. Quickly, she lighted all four bombs she carried on her and got away from the car. "Go, Alice! Go now!" She yelled a second before the bombs exploded and her body was torn into pieces, along with a few hundreds of undead. The windows of the car shattered and the car rolled over and burst into flames.

"Get out of the car, it's gonna blow up!" Alice yelled and pulled Miranda out of the car through the window. She dragged her to an alley and came back to help Rae out. Peter was trying to take Lindsay, who was unconscious, out of the car, but the whole backseat was squashed and Lindsay's lower body was caught.

"Alice, help me get Lindsay out!" He yelled. His shoulder was wounded and it was very painful for him to pull Lindsay out. Alice helped Rae out of the car, gave her a gun and pointed at the alley where Miranda was waiting. Then, she opened the door of the car and went in. Quickly and efficiently, she moved to the back seat and released Lindsay's legs that were caught in a small space that was left between the ceiling and the floor of the car's right side.

"She's free." She said and helped Peter pull her out of the van. Together, they carried her to the alley and laid her down on the pavement.

"She's breathing." Peter said after conducting a quick and slightly sloppy check up. "And I can't see any sign of bleeding, except for some minor wounds. Hopefully, there's no damage to her internal organs."

"We need to get her to a hospital as soon as possible." Alice said. "I'm gonna get us another car, the rest of you should stay here and be very quiet." She grabbed a weapon and started going away. From the road they could hear a huge explosion sound.

"Too bad, I liked this car." Peter said to himself. Alice came back twenty minutes later, with a green minivan that was still in one piece, despite Alice's driving, the chaos in the city, and the explosions. Rae helped him carry Lindsay into the car and they drove off. Most of the way was clear of zombies, mostly because Alice kept driving in the less populated areas of the city and side roads.

"Wait! Stop right here!" Rae ordered when she saw a gas station. A couple of zombies were chasing the car and Alice really didn't wanna stop for gas or even to shoot those zombies. "We need gas."

"We need to get out of here as soon as possible before those creeps kill us all." Alice replied. Night was starting to fall and she didn't wanna get lost in the darkness.

"You can't get anywhere without gas." Rae argued.

"I'm gonna stop at the next station, okay?"

"No, stop here. You can't let them get out of the city. They're gonna bite and kill people out of town and that's gonna be a mess." Rae said. Alice had to admit that Rae was right. It was better to kill the zombies now and keep the virus from spreading outside of Raccoon City. She pulled into the gas station and went out of the car. She filled the gas quickly while Rae shot the two zombies that were coming closer to the car. "Leave the pump on the floor and let the gas drip out of it." Alice nodded and did what Rae said. "Now, let's get the hell out of here." She said and looked at Miranda. "I need your lighter, Mira."

"How'd you know I smoke?" Her younger sister looked at her with surprise and handed the lighter to Rae.

"I saw you smoking with your friends a couple weeks ago after school." Rae replied and opened the sunroof of the car. She lit the fire in the lighter and threw it towards the puddle of gas that was created on the floor of the station. It burst into flames and as they drove away from there, they could see the whole station exploding.

"Wow, you're a real vandal." Miranda said and patted on her older sister's shoulder. "I guess we have something in common." She smiled at her mysteriously.

"I don't even wanna know." Rae smiled.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Alice drove for almost two hours in the dark and abandoned roads outside of Raccoon city. Lindsay was still unconscious and both Peter and Alice were growing very worried about her condition. Rae and Miranda were both deep in thoughts and the silence in the car was disturbing. It seemed that each one of them was grieving or worrying about something: Peter for the loss of Matt and Clair, the sisters worrying about their father and Alice… Only God knew what she was thinking. From the distance, they could see the lights of the Lasson-Pierre air force base.

"There it is." Alice broke the upsetting silence. "How's Lindsay back there?"

"No change. She's breathing, but not reacting to anything." Peter replied and looked at her with concern.

"She'll be okay. She's strong." Alice said. She didn't know how, but somehow she knew that Lindsay was gonna wake up soon. "Only few miles ahead there's gonna be a safe place for all of us, warm clothes, food and a doctor who'll take care of our injuries." She said, not sure why she felt the need to reassure the other people in the car. She increased the speed of the car. She too, wanted to get there and leave the responsibility for the living population to the U.S. Army. As the car came closer to the base, the light became stronger until it was dazzling. Alice stopped the car at the gate. Two soldiers stood there and looked at them.

"Are you lost?" One of them asked.

"No, this is the place we need." Alice said. "We're coming from Raccoon City. The whole city is in chaos. Everyone died. I have some survivors; two civilians and two foreign. They're wounded." She said.

"And you?" The other guard asked.

"I'm Sergeant Alice Donovan." She presented herself. She thought it would be useless to tell them that she was a secret operative.

"Please wait, Sergeant, until we get an authorization to let you pass." One of the guards said and grabbed his communicator. She could hear him conversing with the commanding officer for few moments and then he opened the gate. "You can pass, Sergeant. Drive straight and take left on the second turn." He said. Alice nodded and went back into the car.

"I have a killer headache…" Lindsay moaned and covered her eyes with her palm.

"Oh, Lindsay. You're awake." Alice said in a slight surprise.

"Yeah…" Lindsay moaned. "That spotlight…"

"The spotlight is what woke you up?" Alice asked in surprise. Lindsay hummed and slowly nodded her head.

"The light was too strong." She said as Alice drove the car to where the guard sent her.

Everyone in the base were still comfortably sleeping in their beds when the base commanders got the order to send three of Lasson-Pierre's best flight units to bombard Raccoon City. The skies were dark and thick rain started falling and knocking on the barracks' tin and wood roofs. Distant explosion sounds woke the soldiers who stayed in the base and they went out of their barracks, wearing their only thin pajamas. Lindsay, Alice, Rae, Miranda and Peter were among them and they were standing close to each other and watching the skyline burning with fire and smoke that rose from Raccoon City. The sight was awful and beautiful at the same time and the noise was deafening.

"Are you scared?" Peter asked and put his hand on the small of her back. She looked at him for a moment and then turned back to look at the red and orange night sky.

"I have no reason to be scared." She replied after thinking for several moments. He took her hand and caressed her thin fingers. The skin of her palm was scalded and she pulled her hand from his with a hiss of pain.

"Let me see that." He said and took her hand. The skin of her palm was red and part of it was raw and scorched. "You ought to have a doctor take a look at this." He said softly. She nodded her head and looked into his eyes for a moment. Then she turned around and went back to the barrack where she, Alice, Rae and Miranda were sleeping. Peter was about to follow her when Alice stopped her.

"She needs some time for herself." She said. Peter looked at her with disbelief.

"How do you know everything?" He asked.

"I don't. I guess most of the time, but I'm usually right." Alice smiled. "She's not mad at you because you hurt her hand. She's mad at the world."

"Did she tell you anything?" Peter questioned that Lindsay would tell Alice what she was thinking and feeling, since Alice didn't seem capable of understanding other people's emotions.

"No, but I know she needs to be alone with her thoughts for a while. You're her best friend, you should understand." And with those words, she walked away from there. Peter sighed. He wasn't sure that it was the right thing to do, but decided to listen to Alice and leave Lindsay alone for a while.

Lindsay was sitting outside of her barrack. It was cold and raining, but she didn't care. She looked at the dusty sky and listened to the bombing sounds from Raccoon City. It was a horrible sound and her ears were aching, but she didn't want to move away from there.

"Hey, there." She heard Peter's voice. "What are you doing outside? You'll get sick." He said and took a seat next to her.

"It's okay, I'm not feeling cold." She said.

"I haven't seen you in breakfast today."

"That's because I wasn't there. I don't feel like eating." Lindsay replied.

"It's gonna be okay. You'll see" Peter said and patted on her shoulder. "Listen, Linds. I've decided to resign the OSIR."

"Me too." Lindsay replied.

"I thought you'll be doing that." Peter said. He looked at her and could see how deep the sadness in her eyes was. "You know, I thought a lot last night and… You remember how you told me once that you always wanted to live in a big house in the suburbs with your husband and raise three kids and a dog?" A smile rose on Lindsay's face.

"Yeah, that was awhile ago, I can't believe you still remember that." She said.

"Well, I thought about it last night and I wanna marry you and live in a big house in a suburb with three kids and a dog." He said. "Would you like that?" She started at him with shock.

"Would I like that?" She repeated his question. She looked at him with confusion.

Take your time. You don't have to answer now."

"Yeah," Lindsay replied.

"So, I'll leave you here to think, okay?" He got up and was about to leave when Lindsay took his hand.

"I said yes. I'd like to marry you and live in the suburbs with three kids and a puppy." Peter turned around and looked at her as if he didn't expect that answer. "It was a puppy, not a… dog." She smiled innocently. "Why are you looking at me this way?"

"Because it's really sweet, the way you said that." Peter replied. "Can I, ummm, kiss you?"

"We're gonna wait to the wedding for that." Lindsay smiled and started walking away from there.

The skies were dusty for days after the army's bombings destroyed Raccoon City and the grounds of Lasson-Pierre were covered with thick mud that stuck to the soldier's shoes and forced them to polish their boots few times a day. It has been two weeks since Alice, Peter, Lindsay and the sisters ran away from Raccoon City and disturbing news came to their ears.

"They wanna send us to one of Umbrella's research facilities for tests." Alice stormed into the barrack she shared with Lindsay, the sisters and ten more female soldiers.

"What tests?" Lindsay asked in suspicion. After what she saw in Raccoon City, she knew that Umbrella was only capable of bad and evil deeds.

"They wanna make sure we're not infected." Alice replied. "They claim that the virus might have evolved in our bodies and combined with our blood cells and made us smarter zombies. In other words, they say we're biological threats for the population."

"But we're not, that's a lie." Lindsay protested.

"They want us dead. We've seen too much and now they wanna keep us from talking." Alice said.

"They can't make us do that. Can they?" Miranda asked.

"Of course they can't. They must have permission from your father in order to do that, and he wasn't found yet." Lindsay said.

"And what about you?"

"They can't send Peter and me anywhere. We're not citizens of the States and Alice has the right to refuse. We all do. Umbrella doesn't own any of us."

"They're not gonna let the two of you out of the country, Lindsay." Alice said.

"Okay, then let's give them blood samples." Lindsay said.

"Let me discuss this with the commander of the base. Maybe he's gonna agree to this." And he did, but decided to keep them in quarantine until the results of their blood-work from Umbrella came back negative.

"It's really boring here…" Lindsay complained on their fifth day in quarantine. They were locked in a big room that was practically empty, except for four beds. They were getting food and water four times a day, by a fully protected guard and had a common shower. "Poor Pete. I hope his not dying there from boredom." They were separated from him and didn't see him since they were locked.

"Hopefully," Alice said. "Or you won't have a groom."

"I didn't know you knew about this." Lindsay said.

"Know about what?" Miranda always liked to be updated.

"Peter asked her to marry him and she said yes." Rae said. "God, I really wanna read something…"

"I see everyone know about this except for me. How can it be?" Miranda asked.

"Maybe because you looked for some hot soldiers." Rae replied.

"I think you're jealous." Miranda said and threw her pillow on her sister. "Because boys never looked at you."

"Maybe it's just because I don't dress like a slut and think I'm cool." Rae said.

"Yeah, but I don't hide behind books all the time."

"I want people to like me because I'm smart and not because I offer free and easy sex." Rae said.

"Hey, the two of you stop fighting. It's bad here enough without hearing you fight about boys, books and sex." Alice got mad.

"Man, it's so dark here. I really miss the sunlight." Lindsay felt like a flower that didn't get enough light. Darkness made her feel feeble and weak.

"Yeah, all this darkness makes me tired all the time and I'm never tired." Alice said.

"We noticed." Lindsay smiled faintly.

"I bet you did." Alice smiled. "So, when's the wedding?"

"I don't know. I want Pete to meet my father first. They're both chemists and I'm sure they'll like each other."

"I knew you were a princess." Alice joked.

"Well, you can say that. But I haven't seen my father since I started working for the OSIR." Lindsay said and Alice could see by the look in her eyes that she missed being a spoiled rich girl.

"Why's that?" Rae asked.

"He's mad at me." Lindsay replied.

"Why?" Miranda joined the conversation.

"Almost four years ago my mom got really sick. She had a brain tumor. The doctors caught it too late and she was given less than a month to live. It was around Christmas and my father asked me to come and spend the holiday at home, for her, but I planned a fabulous ski trip with a group of friends and didn't want to give it up." Lindsay said. "He never forgave me for that." Tears were flowing down her face and she buried her head in her pillow and cried.

"I'm sure he'll forgive you. Just say that you made a mistake and you're sorry for that." Miranda said and touched Lindsay's shoulder. "He'll surely be glad that you admit that you were wrong. Parents like that."

"That's really sweet of you, Mira, but I'm not sure it's gonna work." Lindsay said.

"You've got nothing to lose." Alice said. "Will you trust me if I tell you it's gonna be okay?" She smiled. Lindsay raised her head and nodded.

The tests results came from the Umbrella labs only four days later and proved, as expected, that all of the five survivors from Raccoon City were not infected with the T-virus and could be released and go on with their lives. It was a cold, rainy and depressing day, but none of them felt depressed or sad. Never before had they understood the true meaning of freedom and now they cherished it more than they ever did.

"So, where do we go from here?" Rae asked when they stood at the train station. They were being sent to live with their aunt in Florida.

"Nowhere, Rae. Dad's gone. There are no survivors from the city." Miranda said. "We're alone; unless you consider Aunt Rhonda who's gonna take over our lives."

"I'm sure she's gonna be nice to you." Lindsay said. To the sisters' request, she and Alice came to wait with them for their train.

"Oh, you obviously never met Aunt Rhonda." Miranda said. "And if you will, you'll never want to meet her again." Lindsay smiled. In the nine days they were locked up together she got to know the sisters and understood that Miranda liked to exaggerate about everything.

"Is she really that bad?" Lindsay asked Rae.

"She's not my favorite person in the whole world, but she's not horrible either." The teenage girl replied.

"She's saying that because Aunt Rhonda runs the local university's library." Miranda argued. Lindsay smiled. Miranda hated everything and everyone that had something to with books.

"I can teach you a little Karate. You could use it if she gets really annoying." Alice suggested. Miranda nodded in excitement. The train entered the station and people started coming out of it. "It looks like we won't have time for Karate, Mira, but you can email me if she gets on your nerves and I'll make sure someone will kick her ass." Alice joked. Miranda nodded and hugged Alice. "Hey, this applies to you too." She smiled at Rae.

"Well, I don't use violence to solve my problems, but thanks for offering." Rae said.

"No reason to be bitter, Rae." Alice petted on her shoulder.

"Hey, Linds, you're gonna invite us to the wedding, right?" Miranda asked.

"Miranda, it's not polite!" Rae said angrily.

"It's okay." Lindsay smiled and patted Rae's shoulder. "Both of you are invited to the wedding. It would be a pleasure to see you there." She hugged Miranda. "Stay in touch." And then she hugged Rae. "You're a very special girl, Rae. You'll probably have a fabulous career one day, but you have to chill out a little bit. You know, books are a great way to have fun, but they're not friends. It would be a shame to waste the best time of your life reading. Try to have some fun on your last high school year. It won't come back again."

"Don't worry." Rae smiled.

"And make a lot of new friends, eh?"

"I have to. All of my old friends are dead zombies…" Rae said bitterly. "I have to go now, or Mira and the train will leave without me." And she went on the train. She took her seat inside the train next to Miranda and looked at Alice and Lindsay through the window. The waved the two women as the train started moving.

"Those two are something." Alice said. Lindsay agreed. She always wished to have a sister and hoped that Rae and Miranda appreciated each other's being.

"They're wonderful, aren't they?"

"Definitely." Alice replied and they went out of the train station. The sky started turning orange, pink and purple and both of them looked up at the color war that was taking place above their heads. It was something they wanted to remember forever, as hopeless as they may have felt that moment, they knew that the only sure thing was the sky. People lived and died, came and went and it wasn't easy to say goodbye, but the sun always rose in the east and set in the west.


	5. Epilogue

Epilogue

"First and final case log, Lindsay Donner reporting: We were sent to Raccoon City to investigate the phenomenon of the walking dead; zombies. Only that we didn't know that we were actually there to find and kill every zombie in the city and prevent them from infecting the living population with the deadly virus they carried. The city was destroyed completely. There is no house that survived the US army's bombings and no survivors either. Some of our team members didn't make it either. We have lost our dear Matt Praeger to the bites of the zombies and Dr. Clair Davison in an act of bravery that was meant to save Peter and me. We will remember them forever. Donner, out."

I put down the little recorder that was in my hand and concluded my final report about the case. Then I closed the file and put in on the desk in my room. I opened my closet and took out a black dress I reserved for funerals. The first image that popped into my mind when I looked at myself in the mirror was the explosion that took Connor away from me two years ago. It still pains me, but I have learned that life doesn't always go the way we'd like them to.

But even though we have to deal with the terrible pain over our late team members, Peter and I are going on with our lives. We resigned our jobs in the OSIR and both of us are moving away. Peter was offered a good position in a research team in Stockholm and I am going with him, as his wife. We will be leaving the country six months from now and by then, we'll be already married. I am not sure what I am going to do in Sweden, but I'm sure I will find my way pretty fast, like I always do.

After revealing the corruption inside the Umbrella Corporation and making sure that the heads of the corporation pay for what they have done to the community of Raccoon City, Alice has changed her profession quite a bit. She resigned her job as a secret operative in the US army and has become a self defense instructor in a youth center in New York. Could anyone ever believe that?

Rae and Miranda had also gone on with their lives. After they moved in with their mother's sister in Florida, Rae graduated high school and was at the top of her class. She is going to college and Miranda to high school. I heard they're happy and doing pretty well.

I have always thought my goal in this life is to survive. I have told myself dozens of times that if I wasn't the one who should have lived, the others wouldn't be dead now. Peter said that we survived, all right, but in the end of it, we're victims, just like the ones who died in Raccoon City. I choose to believe that we're survivors, because looking at myself as a victim is way too depressing for me. Life goes on and gives us two choices: to stop living, cry about our bad luck and miss all the fun, or to go on and try to make the best out of what had happened. I choose to live, because if I let myself be a victim, I'll end up being one.

THE END (for now)


End file.
